Leave it to the veteran to add some much needed common sense. There is in fact, “an adult in the room.” New Pittsburgh Steelers’ Cornerback Darius Slay, or “Slay” as the kids tell me, had some comments about OTAs last week and they were needed. Whether those comments were directed at anyone in particular I cannot say but I’m glad he said them.
Most observers, upon reading Slay’s comments, immediately believed them to be a shot across Aaron Rodgers’ bow. I cannot speak for Slay but I don’t think that was his intention. Rodgers is not even on this team. He’s not on the roster and he isn’t even under contract. Therefore, why would he be at OTAs? For those of you who missed it, here were Slay’s comments from Day Two of OTAs last week.
“This is where championship football starts off at,” Slay said, speaking to reporters at Wednesday’s OTAs. “I know guys have families and stuff — I have one as well. So, you want to be a champion, and there’s stuff you have to sacrifice. And this is one of the jobs I want to sacrifice for — coming here, being on time, be present, let guys see my face and let them know it’s important for me to be here — and I’m here to win.“
Those are exactly the type of words we expect to hear from our players and coaches. No, this isn’t high school football where being present and available is paramount, but the mindset should be no different. What was interesting was that many media outlets believed him to be referring not just to Rodgers, but T.J. Watt as well. I don’t necessarily believe either case is true. There’s an old saying in pro football and in sports in general among the athletes; “Don’t talk about another player’s money.” Slay is 34 years old and knows this better than all of us which is why I don’t believe Watt was the target here.
Instead, what we need to do is just take his words for what they were… The truth. He’s absolutely right about guys needing to be at OTAs not just for the installs and drills, but to be present, voluntary or not. That has been my own personal issue with this Aaron Rodgers flirtation. I realize he is dealing with some personal issues and he deserves time to deal with those but Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan are also responsible for running a pretty lucrative business. Being ‘present’ as Slay points out is still critical for success and I don’t care what level of sports we are discussing.
In the end, I don’t really care who – if anyone in particular – Slay’s comments were directed towards. Everyone wearing Black and Gold should have taken notice.
Feature image courtesy trib-live.com
